Daydreams
by Ari Moriarty
Summary: A collection of one-shots and short companion pieces based around the events of my Persona 4 story, "Dreamgirl." Updated regularly with scenes and snippets that didn't make their way into the main story, but are still worth writing.
1. Be Not Afraid

**Author's Note: **Well, here we go again! This short little story is based on the characters and events of my story, **Dreamgirl**, and should probably be read alongside that story. I wrote this after being inspired by **Meia42** to improve upon my Chie characterization, so here is a little exploration of Chie's character.

This is also based somewhat on my own experience with sending a close friend off into a war zone.

I hope you enjoy!

**Be Not Afraid**

"_Be not afraid, for upon mine honor, I will stand betwixt you and danger."_

(Paulina, from "The Winter's Tale" by William Shakespeare)

"Yeah," said Chie, as she sat on Yukiko's bed in the Amagi Inn and watched her best friend packing a huge, red suitcase. "But, I still don't get why you have to go."

Yukiko sighed. "I told you, Chie," she insisted, sounding just a bit exasperated. "This is a huge privilege, a really important opportunity for me. I've been offered the chance to tour some of the most successful hotel chains in all of Japan! I've got a lot to learn about the hospitality industry if I'm going to succeed as the manager of the Amagi Inn. You said it yourself, once; it's the pride of Inaba." She gave Chie a teasing smile, but Chie just looked more miserable.

"So, I guess you probably get to stay at the hotels for free, right?" she asked. "Do you get free food, too?"

"Yes," said Yukiko. "Yes, I get lots of free food. Are you happy, now?"

Chie bit her lip. "No," she mumbled. "Not really."

Yukiko threw up her hands, and then sat down on the bed next to Chie. "What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong? Why are you making this into such a big deal?"

"I don't know," said Chie evasively. "Honestly, if this was going to be for just a few weeks, or even for a couple months, I'd feel a lot more comfortable about it, but…Yukiko, you're going to be gone for a year. A whole year! That's a really long time, okay? And…well, and we've always been together."

Yukiko nodded slowly. "Oh," she murmured, "I see. Chie, look, you don't have to worry, you won't be lonely. Yosuke will still be here, and so will Kanji, and Teddie…and even Nanako! Yu's coming back to visit next month, too. Before you know it, you'll have forgotten all about me, and then-!"

"Nope." Chie shook her head belligerently. "Not a chance. That would never happen."

Yukiko soldiered on. "What I mean is," she insisted, "that it won't be all that bad. You'll be too busy with your new job at the police station to think much about me, anyway. I'll be back before you know it. "

Yukiko went back to her packing, and Chie sat there for a long moment, her face screwed up in thought.

"Yeah," she said, after a moment's consideration. "But, Yukiko…what if you're not?"

"Hmm?" asked Yukiko. "What if I'm not what?"

"Not back," clarified Chie. "What if you don't come back?"

That got Yukiko's full attention. Turning around again, she raised an eyebrow. "Of course I'll come back," she insisted. "I have to come back. This is my home. The whole reason I'm leaving is so that I come back and make the inn more successful. I'm not planning on staying forever."

Chie didn't look as though she was feeling any better. "That's not what I meant," she said, starting to sound frustrated. "I mean, I know you're not planning to run away, or anything, it's just…you know, things can happen, in the city. I see it on the news all the time, and so do you! People get kidnapped, they get run over by cars, and sometimes they even get shot! You and I totally watched that one special on TV last week about the guy who was chased down by armed robbers just because he'd seen their faces before they robbed this one bank!" She shuddered, and Yukiko honestly couldn't be sure if it was a shiver of fear or of pleasurable excitement. Probably, she decided, a bit of both.

Yukiko frowned. "I read in the paper yesterday that a girl in Tokyo supposedly met a strange man and ran off with him. They thought she was abducted, but really they'd secretly eloped!" She sighed. "Don't worry, Chie…my life will never be that interesting. Oh, well."

But, what if it is?" Chie didn't seem to be willing to let this one go. "Like I said, we've always been together. When you go off and start your big world tour, who's going to be there to help you chase off the strange men?"

Yukiko looked surprised, and touched. "Chie," she murmured.

"I promised myself, back when you first got thrown into the TV world," Chie went on, apparently unable to stop herself now that she was on a roll. "I promised myself that I would never let anything happen to you, no matter what! That's what real friends do for each other, right? They look out for each other. That's what we've always done…what I've always done. What's going to happen if I'm not there?"

For a long moment, Yukiko didn't say anything. She kept absently folding clothes and placing them into the suitcase, as the silence stretched on between the two women, both of them lost for the time being in their own thoughts.

"Promise me you'll be okay," said Chie eventually.

"I promise," agreed Yukiko meekly. Reaching out for Chie's hand, Yukiko squeezed it reassuringly. "And I promise that I won't run off with any strange men," she added. "Not this time, anyway."

That seemed to make Chie feel just a little bit better, at least. "Well," she mumbled, "Okay. And if you need anything, you'll call me, right? Because there's definitely a train that goes from here to like, all of the cities that you'll be staying in. I mean, there are lots of trains, and I could get on one just like that, and then I'd be there as soon as you needed me. Okay?"

Yukiko smiled. "Okay."

Yukiko finished her packing, and then closed the suitcase. Chie bent over to help her force it shut.

"And promise that you won't forget to come back," whispered Chie suddenly. "It'd be awfully boring around here without you."

Yukiko shook her head. "Don't be afraid," she reassured her friend. "Chie, it doesn't matter who else I meet in the city, or anywhere else. You'll always be my white knight. You always have been! Ever since that day in the TV world…"

Chie wrinkled her nose. "Um, ew." She said.

Yukiko suddenly turned a little pink. "Wait, no!" she insisted. "No, not like that! You know what I meant…Jeez, Chie!"


	2. Neighborhood Watch

**Author's Note: **I'm almost done with the next chapter of M-Path, but I keep getting distracted by this…I really want to get this character right!

This is another forty-minute free-write, again inspired by **Meia42**, and a companion piece to **Dreamgirl**. Exploring Chie's characterization, again. I know, I know, I shouldn't get into the habit of writing these one-shots again, but I'll consolidate it into something else soon enough. I promise.

**Neighborhood Watch**

On that Tuesday morning, almost before the sun had finished coming up, Chie pounded on the door of Tatsumi Textiles.

"Hey, Kanji-kun!" she called out. "It's me, Chie! Are you ready?"

After a few moments had elapsed, Chie heard the sound of Kanji's feet thudding across the floor, and then he pulled the door open to reveal a terrifyingly stubbly, bleary-eyed face.

"Whuh….huh?" he asked.

"Eek!" Chie took a step back, and involuntarily shifted herself into the combat position. Kanji blinked at her, then shook his head.

"Not so damn loud," he mumbled. "You're gonna wake Ma. What the hell time is it, anyway?"

Chie shrugged, taking a deep breath and forcing herself over the initial shock she'd received at the unpleasant sight of Kanji's morning face. "How should I know?" she asked. "It's early, that's all. You know what they say, right? The early bird gets the worm!"

"Worm's got nothing to do with it," muttered Kanji, running a hand through greasy, un-showered hair. "Anyway, let's just get this over with, okay? I wanna get home before the store opens, so I can go back to bed."

Chie rolled her eyes. "Fine…come on!"

Together, more or less, they marched back out into the streets of the shopping district, and then stopped on the curb. Chie gazed around at the various shop fronts and street corners, looking for any sign of trouble or things getting out of hand.

"Hey, Chie," said Kanji.

Chie bit her lip. "What?"

"Well, uh, you know how everyone's still asleep, right now?" he insisted.

Chie nodded. "Right, yeah."

Kanji frowned. "Uh, well, if everyone's still asleep, and nobody's even out on the streets or getting breakfast or at any of the shops, or…whatever, then what exactly are we supposed to be doing? 'S not like anybody's around to be making trouble, right now. So, what are we standing here for?"

Chie took a deep breath. This wouldn't be first time that she'd explained the plan to Kanji, and unfortunately, it probably wouldn't be the last time either. "Kanji," she reminded him as sweetly and patiently as she could, "We're agreed to be the Neighborhood Watch, right?"

"Right," agreed Kanji , readily enough.

"So," continued Chie, "it's our job to keep an eye on the shops, and on the town, and to make sure nothing gets stolen or broken into or whatever. Right?"

"Uh, yeah." Kanji nodded. "Right."

Chie felt that she was getting somewhere. "Well," she went on, "I learned from my police training that criminals are the most active in the middle of the night, or very first thing in the morning, because those are the times that most of the people are asleep, get it? So nobody's there to get in the way, or to call for help. That's our job, okay? We watch, and we stay on the alert so that nobody else has to be awake to worry about it. Okay?"

Kanji nodded quickly. "Right. Okay," he said. "Yeah, uh, I guess that makes sense. That one time that Ma's place got broken into, I think it was the middle of the night." Narrowing his eyes, he slammed one first into his other palm, looking momentarily murderous. "Damn, if only I could get my hand on the punks that took our TV…"

Chie patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. "Well, maybe if we keep on the lookout, we'll catch them the next time around," she suggested.

Several long moments passed while they stood on the curb, and shielded their eyes from the rising sun as they looked for any sign of punks or difficulties. Chie could hear Kanji fidgeting restlessly beside her, although she tried to keep her mind trained on the task at hand. She knew that it was important to stay focused, especially when on a stakeout or when preparing to make a tricky arrest. The bad guys would always be trying to catch her off guard, but she had to be more than ready. She had to be unshakeable.

"Hey, Chie," said Kanji, breaking into her stoic reverie.

Chie winced. "What, Kanji?"

"Uh…you hungry?" he asked. "Because I am seriously starving. Had no breakfast. Actually, um, I just sort of got out of bed like ten minutes ago."

Chie's stomach chose that moment to make an uncomfortably treacherous rumbling noise. She closed her eyes and tried not to think about the delectable image of breakfast, and the different kinds of breakfast meats that were probably available at Souzai Daigaku, even a this hour of the morning.

"We'll get breakfast later," she assured both him and her audible stomach. "Right now, we have a job to do, okay? Now stop interrupting me! I'm trying to stay alert, remember?"

A minute or so late, Kanji tried again.

"Hey," he said again. "Uh, so, the other day, there was totally this band of tough looking thugs hanging out around the back of Souzai Daigaku."

Chie was suddenly paying much closer attention. "Was it those two guys?" she asked. "The ones who keep coming around corners and pouncing on poor school kids to take their lunch money?"

Kanji nodded sagely. "Yeah," he agreed. "Maybe. Coulda been." He scratched his neck with one finger, apparently putting some thought into this. "Anyway, whoever it is, I bet we'd scare them off if we hung out in front of the store for a bit, you know?"

Chie gave him an appraising look. "You…definitely are a pretty scary looking guy," she agreed hesitantly. "Especially at this hour of the morning."

Kanji looked hurt. "Hey," he mumbled. "Look, I just haven't shaved today, I can't help it if I'm, uh, physically mature for my age, like Ma says."

Chie wasn't thinking about Kanji's stubble, however. Instead, she was thinking very hard about delectably choice bits of juicy steak….and, of course, the back of her mind added, about those awful guys who were picking on poor, helpless kids. "Yeah, I think you're right," she told him, ignoring his injured protestations. "We definitely gotta go over there. What if those guys try to rob the store while nobody's up and looking? Souzai Daigaku might have to close down! That would be awful!"

Without waiting for a response, she took off across the street with a purposeful stride that she felt was worthy of a policeman in training.

"Hey, wait up!" called Kanji, hurrying to catch up with her. "Uh, you mind buying? I kinda left the house without my wallet…"


	3. My Girl

**Author's Note: **I was out at a party this evening with several friends whom I'm performing with this season. We had a good time, but over the course of the evening there was a lot of drama, a lot of drinking, and a fair amount of flirting between members of both sexes. Honestly, by the end of the evening I was exhausted, and decided to do a free-write just to help me wind down.

This is the result of that free-write. Thanks for indulging me!

This is a companion piece to my story, **Dreamgirl**, and can (should, probably) be read alongside that work.

**My Girl**

Nanako was still up at midnight as Tuesday turned inexorably into Wednesday. She was slaving away at the kitchen table, doing her best to work through a complicated set of algebra problems that had been giving her trouble for hours.

_Big Bro, _she thought, _wouldn't have any trouble with stuff like this. He was always good at school, and he got the highest grades in his class twice while he was staying with us! He even got good grades in college! He wouldn't give up, and neither will I._

She'd been letting those same thoughts repeat themselves over and over in her head since she'd first discovered that the answers weren't going to come easily, and by now, even thinking about her beloved cousin wasn't quite carrying her through the evening. She yawned, stretched, blinked, and then glanced miserably over at the clock.

"I'll never get it," she murmured to herself. "Why does math have to be so hard?"

Still, unwilling to give in and accept defeat, Nanako forced herself to keep working. She was caught between a daydream and a mathematical solution when she heard the front door open, and looked up to see Dad finally dragging himself inside, still wet from the rain that Nanako could hear pounding against the window.

"Hey," muttered Dad, shaking his head and draping his soaking coat over the back of a chair. "Sorry I'm so late."

Nanako jumped to her feet. "Welcome home!" She hurried over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She was tall enough now that jus standing on her tiptoes was sufficient. Dad didn't even have to bend over for her to reach him anymore. He smiled as she kissed him.

"Were you waiting up for me?" he asked, looking guiltily at the clock. "It's midnight, Nanako…you have school tomorrow. You should have been asleep a long time ago."

Nanako shook her head, gesturing at the textbook on the table. "I have homework," she told him, giving the textbook a distasteful grimace. "It's awful…I can't figure it out at all."

Dad wandered over and took a cursory look at the book. "Ah, math," he said, nodding. "You want some help? I used to be pretty good at this stuff."

_Yes, _thought Nanako desperately. _Yes, please help me! I'm desperate!_

She opened her mouth to tell him that she needed all the help that she could get, but stopped herself as she watched water droplets flicking off of Dad's scalp when he ran his hand through his graying hair. He looked tired. He always looked tired, of course, but there was something different about tonight. It was more, Nanako realized, than just exhaustion. Dad was sad, too, or maybe just frustrated. Whatever it was, something had gotten to him at work, and there was a distracted, faraway expression in his eyes.

"It's okay," she assured him, stifling another yawn. "I can do it. Don't worry."

Nanako forced herself back over to the table, and hunkered down again in front of her studies. For some reason, Dad laughed.

"That's my girl," he told her, yawning mid-sentence, which frankly didn't help Nanako at all. "You show those math problems what you're made of, Nanako."

She expected Dad to head off to bed, but instead he went into the kitchen and began brewing a pot of coffee.

"What kept you?" she asked him, honestly looking for any distraction to keep her away from the dreaded algebra.

"Some kids were having a crazy party across town," replied Dad. "It got too loud and out of control, so the neighbors called us in to come and try and get the volume down."

"Oh." Nanako frowned. "Sounds boring…"

For a moment, Dad didn't say anything. As the silence stretched uncomfortably on, Nanako glanced up to find her father staring at her, biting his lip and nodding to himself.

"When we got there," he said finally, "the party was already almost over. Wasn't really much left to do except to make sure that everybody got a ride home from somebody who wasn't too trashed to drive. It got messy, and one of those teenage punks even threw a punch at the rookie, but eventually we got it all sorted out."

"Oh." Nanako returned her attention to her math problems, which were now starting to swim around in front of her in a sleep-deprivation induced haze. She glared at them. They stared back at her, undaunted.

"We weren't really in time, though," Dad was saying. "By the time we got to the party, some of the kids had already left. I guess maybe some of them drove themselves home when they heard that the neighbors were calling the police."

That got Nanako's attention. "But, I thought you said that they'd been drinking," she reminded him. "That's…that's not very safe, is it?"

"No." Dad sighed. "No, it's not very safe."

He poured the coffee into two cups, and brought it over to the table. Nanako was in the process of reaching for one of them when he suddenly picked it up again, and returned it to the counter.

"Dad?" she asked, puzzled.

Dad shook his head. "Forget the coffee," he muttered. "It's late, Nanako. Go get some sleep. A girl your age needs her sleep."

"But," insisted Nanako, "my math homework…I'm not finished."

"You can do it in the morning," said Dad. "I'll get you up early, so you can work on it before school. Right now, just…just rest. You're barely awake as it is. If you push yourself too hard, you're just gonna make yourself sick."

_You're not really one to talk, _thought Nanako, suppressing a little smile as she shut the book and headed for the stairwell. _You push yourself and make yourself sick all the time. _

"Okay," she said. "Goodnight, Dad."

"Night," mumbled Dad. Walking over, he took her gently by the shoulders, and kissed her on the top of the head. "You're a good kid, you know that? The rest of it's not really important."

As Nanako lay in bed a few minutes later, she stared up at the ceiling and listened to the sounds of Dad puttering around in the kitchen downstairs.

_The rest of what?_ she wondered, unsure what exactly her father had been talking about. She didn't have too long to wonder, however. Before her mind could really get a hold on the question, sleep overtook her, and she drifted off in relief.


	4. December

**Author's Note: **Taking a brief break from working on my lines to do a freewrite. This one's about Adachi (I know, you're shocked) during the in-game moment on December 3, right after Yu and the investigation team leave the hospital to look for Teddie.

This is a companion piece to **Dreamgirl**, and will hopefully help to flesh out character motivations in that story, a bit.

**December**

Outside, it had begun to snow, but inside Inaba Municipal Hospital, Tohru Adachi was sweating like crazy. He watched through the window of an unoccupied hospital room as Yu and his friends wandered back off into the fog, presumably heading for home. Then he sat down on the floor, leaned back against the wall, and closed his eyes.

"Holy crap," he mumbled. For some reason, he could feel his fingers shaking as he reached up to wipe the sweat off of his forehead.

The last hour or so had been an awful kind of crazy, heart-pounding blur. First Nanako had started getting sicker really fast, and nobody seemed to be able to figure out why. Then those kids had shown up, and Dojima had gone after Namatame. As soon as Adachi had managed to get him back into his damn room, the kids had started in where Dojima had left off and Adachi had found them crowded around a panicky, incoherent Namatame huddled on the floor.

It was all over now, of course. Dojima was sleeping, by some divine mercy, and the kids had finally left. Even Nanako…

_Nanako-chan, _though Adachi miserably. _Damn, this wasn't supposed to fucking happen! She's just a little kid, she wasn't supposed to get hurt! What the hell did she ever do to deserve this?_

Adachi had left the room while the others had gathered around Nanako's bed to try and comfort her. As soon as he'd seen the look on the doctor's face, he'd started feeling sick and disgusted. There wasn't any sense in it, of course. After all, Adachi had known days before Nanako had disappeared that she'd be the next kidnapping victim. He'd sat on his hands and chewed his lip, trying to figure out some safe way that he could squeeze out of this mess while Nanako had been thrown into the TV and almost killed by whatever those things were that lived inside it. Then, when they'd brought her back alive, he'd let that make him feel good. After all, there was no real harm done, right? Nanako was gonna be fine, everybody suspected Namatame, and the case was about to be closed, for good. The game would be over, and Adachi would have won. Why waste time whining about things that could have happened. Nanako was back, wasn't she? There wasn't anything for Adachi to feel guilty about. Nobody suspected him, and he was still on top.

There was, though, still the problem of those kids. They were getting way closer to the truth than he'd ever expected them to, and now they'd had some kind of weird chat with Namatame. Sure, he'd probably just mumbled at them about shit that didn't make sense, the way he'd been doing all along to everybody else, but still…the idea that Namatame might convince them of his innocence sent little chills of fear rocketing down Adachi's spine.

There was enough doubt in regards to Namatame already. After all, the police were sure having a hard time believing the stuff about throwing people into the TV. On one hand, that was good for Adachi, because if Namatame's methods were unbelievable, then so were Adachi's own. If the police dismissed the Namatame case, however that would mean they'd have to start all over from the beginning, and Adachi would find himself yet again, running around like a dumbass and talking himself in circles just to keep his neck out of the noose. He was exhausted, and had started to get scared. Just one slip up, and they'd have him. Those kids were already on the right track, and that was bad news, no matter how he looked at it.

_I gotta do something, _he thought restlessly, watching the snow turn into slush against the foggy windowpane. _Get it together, Adachi. It's action time. I gotta make sure there's no doubt that Namatame's the real killer. Just convince the cops, and I'm out of the woods. Simple, right? After all, you know it's what they really want to believe._

Namatame, he knew, was probably sleeping now in his own room. The guard, if Adachi knew him well enough, was probably passed out too, since that guy didn't seem to be able to keep his eyes open on duty for longer than ten minutes at a stretch. Adachi would probably be able to slip in and out without the guard noticing at all, he realized. The only question was, how best to tackle the problem?

_They need a confession, right? _he asked himself. _Not just for the kidnappings, but for the two murders, too. Still, though, if I write out a confession, there's gonna be some doubt that Namatame's not in his right mind. I gotta get him out of the picture. Maybe I can get rid of the guard for long enough to put the guy out of his misery, then make it look like he killed himself. I don't know, I guess I could hang up over a chair, or something, and then leave the confession lying around. That'll make it look like he felt so guilty about what he'd done that he took himself out of the game. That'd convince anybody, right? Even Dojima-san!_

For a split second, Adachi was slightly horrified that he'd even come up with an idea like that. Once upon a time, killing people had been something that the bad guys did, or something that cops only did in action movies when the going got too tough to play nice. Now, though…now it was part of the real world and of everyday life, and that frightened and exhilarated Adachi at one and the same time.

_What the hell am I turning into? _he asked himself. _Not that it isn't too late to be asking myself that shit…_

But the confession wouldn't, Adachi realized, convince Dojima-san at all. Now that Nanako was alive, Dojima would find a way to be reasonable again. He'd want the truth, not elaborate suicide scenes that might have been staged. Adachi had worked with Dojima long enough to know how his mind worked and it worked primarily on caffeine, rationale, and the cold hard facts. It worked exactly the opposite of the way that Adachi needed it to work right now.

"Damn," he muttered, sighing in frustration.

_He almost killed Nanako-chan, _thought Adachi. _I gave him a chance to be a savior, a chance to live out that weirdo Messiah complex of his, and this is how he pays me back? He goes and tries to fucking "save" my partner's kid? What the hell is that? I made him! I…jeez. Dunno if I can forgive the shit he's pulled. That poor kid…_

He stopped in the midst of his irate reflections, and bit his lip.

_Nah, _he told himself. _That's the point, huh? That's just it. I'm the one that almost got her killed. I had the power, and I gave it to him. I stood back and watched while he took control of the game. That's not the way it was supposed to work. That's no fun. If I let somebody else call the shots, then it's my own damn fault if everything goes to hell. I should never have given him that whole "savior" idea in the first place. This was my party – he shouldn't have been invited._

Nodding to himself, invigorated by that realization, Adachi stood up. For the first time since Nanako's collapse, he finally felt like things were starting to solidify and take shape again inside his tortured mind. The world was beginning to make sense, again.

_It's too late to go back now, _he realized. _I can't let this get any more out of control. Not if I'm gonna stay alive._

Briefly, he contemplated going to Namatame's room and seeing just how receptive the guard on duty might be to stepping out for a cup of coffee. In the end, though, he thought better of it. Instead, he headed off to check on Dojima-san, to talk to the nurses and to feed the few remnants of humanity that were struggling to make themselves heard inside his stifled soul.

_If you want something done right, _said the monster in him, _then you really gotta do it yourself…_


	5. Somewhere

**Author's Note: **So many of my favorite readers have been asking me lately to write Kanji x Naoto. I don't actually ship Kanji x Naoto, but I hate disappointing people, so I gave it a try. Uh…this might not be very good. Sorry. It's the thought that counts, right? Right?

This is the product of a forty minute freewrite, because I wasn't sure how much longer I could risk torturing you with a story about a couple that I have no experiencing writing about.

This takes place during the timeline of **Dreamgirl**, although honestly I figure you already know that by now.

**Somewhere**

"Hey, Naoto!" called Kanji, waving at her across the Junes food court. "Whatcha up to? Having lunch?"

Naoto looked up from her untouched plate of the local specialty, aware suddenly that she'd been zoning out and staring off into space for the past few minutes. Shaking her head to try and clear it, she gave Kanji a tired little smile. "Kanji-kun. Please, join me."

"Sure, thanks." He flopped down in the chair across from her, and gave the steak a dubious look. "What, not hungry? You know, you should eat a little more. You work too hard. You're gonna start losing weight."

"I'm hardly worried about my weight," sighed Naoto. "That is not something with which any reasonably competent detective should waste time concerning herself."

"Right, yeah," agreed Kanji. "Well…it's not like you got anything to worry about, anyway. I mean, you look great."

Surprised, Naoto raised an eyebrow at Kanji, and Kanji immediately turned slightly pink around the ears. "I mean, y-you always look great! Why wouldn't you look great?" he stammered helplessly. "Uh…wait, that's not what I meant. I just meant that, uh…" Suddenly, he shoved the plate of steak forward across the table until it bumped against Naoto's resting elbow. "You gotta eat, or else you'll get sick. Health's important, right? So, uh. Here. Eat your lunch, damnit."

Naoto, somewhat alarmed by the intensity of his insistence, dutifully picked up her fork, propelling a bit of steak into her mouth. Kanji looked pleased with himself.

"You're not working today, Kanj-kun?" asked Naoto. "I thought you'd be at the textile shop. From what I've seen, it looks as though Tatsumi Textiles has been receiving an almost unprecedented amount of business over the past few days."

"Oh, yeah, that," mumbled Kanji. "It's nothing, really…uh, seems like lots of people saw the dress I made for Chie-senpai at the wedding, or in pictures and stuff, and now they're all showing up at the shop asking for Western-style fancy dress orders and lacey things. Problem is, stuff like that takes a long time to make, so I can't do too many. We've got a waiting list. It's pretty damn crazy."

Naoto smiled. "It was a beautiful dress," she agreed, nodding. "You truly outdid yourself. Magnificent work. The sudden influx of attention is only to be subsequently expected."

"Yeah? You think so?" Kanji's face lit up as though the sun had suddenly risen behind his eyes. "That's nice to hear. Uh, thanks. You know, if you ever wanted me to make something for you…all you'd have to do is ask. You know that, right?"

"You've said so before," murmured Naoto. "Thank you. However, I don't feel that I'll be needing any fancy dress clothing for some time to come. Wedding dresses are…entirely out of the question." Now it was Naoto's turn to flush slightly, although she did her best to hide it.

"You're not seeing anybody, then?" asked Kanji suddenly, and a bit more loudly than perhaps he'd intended. Startled, Naoto opened her mouth, closed it, took a deep breath, and then tried again.

"I hardly have time for such things," she informed him. "I'm…far too busy, of course."

Was it her imagination, she wondered, or did Kanji look almost relieved?

"Me neither," he said. "I mean…I'm working hard, too. No time for dating and crap like that. So, uh, I'm single. Have been for a while. Sucks, sometimes, watching everybody else go out, like Chie-senpai and Yu-senpai. Feels like maybe they're gonna leave me behind unless I find somebody soon. You know what I mean?"

Unfortunately, Naoto knew exactly what he meant. At twenty five years old, she'd still never had a boyfriend, which usually didn't bother her at all. It was, after all, her choice that she'd remained out of the dating pool, and had devoted herself entirely and enthusiastically to her work instead. However, as Kanji so effectively described, there were moments when she felt that she was perhaps the last woman on earth without a partner, and it worried her that she might be left alone after everyone else had been chosen and paired off.

"After we've solved the re-emergence of the TV world," she said, perhaps more to herself than to Kanji, "I'll go back to the city and continue my work on some of the investigations that I've been in the midst of. Perhaps once I've completed those investigations, there will be some time to think about…other aspects of my life. Of course, once one case is closed, other cases do seem to develop so quickly that-!"

"You can stay here," interrupted Kanji, staring fiercely down at the tabletop.

Naoto paused, mid-thought, and blinked at him. "Um…what?" she asked.

"You…don't have to go back to the city." Kanji was very, very red now, and speaking slowly, as though forcing the words out against their own will. "You can stay here. With us. In Inaba. For…forever, if you want. I mean, it's not like anybody's gonna argue, right? It's kinda sucked, not having you around. We're all lonely as hell without you. Get it? We, uh…we want you to stay."

Naoto wasn't entirely sure what to say. For a long moment, they sat together, both of them staring at anything but each other, as the seconds ticked inexorably by.

"Kanji," she said quietly, after what felt like the longest moment in history, "I….I have to go back. There are things I need to do, things I need to finish. There are people searching for the truth, who need my help. You do understand that…correct?"

Kanji sighed miserably. "Yeah," he mumbled. "I get it. Sorry. I shouldn't have said nothing."

Impulsively, Naoto reached out, and closed her hand over Kanji's. He jerked his head up as though he'd been shocked with a bolt of his own lightning, and then stared down blankly at Naoto's hand.

"I'm glad you said something," she told him, uncertain of what else there was to say, but forcing herself to attempt it anyway. "It…it is comforting to know that I have somewhere to come home to. You…and the others, of course, will always be that 'somewhere.' It is…not a feeling to which I am accustomed."

"Somewhere, huh?" asked Kanji slowly. "'S better than 'nowhere,' I guess."

"Yes," agreed Naoto, nodding. "Yes, exactly."


	6. A Strong Prince

**Author's Note: **So, today might be a day for freewrites. I think I'm going to play a little bit with pairings and with crushes. This one's actually my favorite Kanji pairing, although I've never really written it before.

**A Strong Prince**

"Excuse me," murmured Yukiko, pushing open the door of Tatsumi Textiles. Kanji was standing behind the counter, with two pins sticking out of one corner of his mouth, surrounded by fabric swatches. He looked frustrated and busy. Yukiko considered coming back later.

"Huh? Oh, hey, Yukiko-san!" Just as Yukiko was about to step outside again, Kanji glanced up and saw her. "Sorry, didn't hear the door. Uh, what's up?"

"It's fine," said Yukiko. "Actually, I've just come to pick up the new tablecloths we ordered. If it's too much trouble, I can come back later."

Kanji spat the pins out into his hand, and deposited them on the counter. He disappeared for a moment below the counter, then reappeared with his arms full of red cloth and lace. "Nope, no worries," he said, grinning. "Got 'em right here. That's, uh, four tablecloths, right? Oh, and I made you some napkins, too. And, um, a headband, cause there was extra fabric and I didn't know what to do with it. Not like you have to wear it, though."

He handed the bundle across to Yukiko, who took it carefully, her eyes widening in surprise. "Napkins?" she asked. "Thank you, but…we didn't pay for anything other than the tablecloth. I don't have very much extra money on me…I'll have to go back to the Inn to get it. How much are you asking for them?"

For a moment, Kanji looked puzzled. "Extra money? You kidding? I just made 'em cause I thought they'd look nice with the tablecloth, that's all. You don't gotta pay me for it. It's a present, I guess. The headband too, obviously."

"That's too kind," murmured Yukiko. "I'm not entirely sure what to say."

Kanji shrugged. "'It's nothing," he mumbled. "I had fun making 'em. Looks like I've got a talent for lace, or something."

Extracting the headband from the midst of the pile of fabric cloths and napkins, Yukiko slipped it carefully over her ears and pulled her hair through. It felt cool and smooth against her forehead, although some of the lace tickled a bit.

"Looks good," remarked Kanji, nodding approvingly and looking proud of himself. "Yeah, definitely goes well with that, uh…whatever you're wearing, anyway. Cool, maybe I can make a whole line of 'em. I gotta remember to show Mom…"

"A whole line?" asked Yukiko. As far as she could tell, Tatsumi Textiles was currently making so many new products that there wouldn't really be room, even for a shelf full of little headbands. Ever since Kanji had taken over the management of the shop, new products and styles had been popping up on a weekly basis, and sometimes there were lines all the way out the door, especially around holiday season when everyone wanted something new to wear or to give to a friend or loved one.

"Business seems to be doing very well," remarked Yukiko, almost more to herself than to Kanji.

He shrugged. "Guess so," he agreed. "Hey, it's all thanks to you guys, though. It's pretty cool that you and the waitresses are all wearing those new kimonos that we made for ya. I get people coming in here all the time asking about 'em. They take forever to make, so I can't really do 'em on commission, or nothing, but it sure gets people excited when they see 'em."

"Glad we could help," said Yukiko, nodding. She paused for a moment, frowning, while Kanji returned to whatever it was he'd been doing with the pins before her arrival. Then, somewhat hesitantly, she asked, "Kanji-kun…do you ever wonder what would have happened if you'd left Inaba, all those years ago? I mean, if you'd never taken over the textile shop?"

"Hmm?" Kanji, who now had four pins in his mouth, took a second to take them carefully back out again. "Uh, no, I don't. Why would I?"

"Oh, no reason," mumbled Yukiko. "I just…I just wondered, that's all."

Kanji straightened a blousey sort of shirt that was hanging a bit lopsidedly on its mannequin. "I like it here," he went on. "I mean…where the hell else would I go? Mom's here, and senpai, and the others…oh, and you, too. I mean…you and I've been here since like, uh, forever, I guess. Guess I never really thought much about doing anything else. Worked out pretty well for me, too, so it's not like I've got shit to complain about."

_I never had anything to really complain about either, _thought Yukiko. _I've been surrounded by friends and loved ones all my life, just like Kanji says…but that doesn't change the fact that I spent so long thinking about leaving. Sometimes, I still wonder what would have happened if I'd followed my first instinct and gone to work in the city when I had the chance. I love it here. I love the people I'm with and the places I go, but…I'm not sure things wouldn't have been wonderful another way. Maybe that's just who I am. Maybe I'm fickle inside, after all._

"You're a strong man, Kanji," murmured Yukiko thoughtfully.

Kanji's head jerked up from his work, and he stared at her "I'm a what?" he asked.

"You're strong," repeated Yukiko. "You're strong, and you're secure…you know what you want, and you're happy doing it. You don't worry and wonder about whether or not you're making the right decision. You're…you're like a rock." She smiled, thinking of Kanji's forceful stance in battle, and the way he could fend off almost any physical attack. "Yes, you're our rock, I think. I like that about you. I'm very glad that you're happy here. It's nice to hear."

Kanji scratched his head with one finger. "Uh, well…jeez, don't think anyone's ever put it that way, before," he muttered. "But, uh, thanks. Yeah."

Yukiko collected her things, and prepared to leave the store. Just as she was pushing the door open again, however, she heard Kanji call out to her.

"Hey, you're happy here too, right?" he asked.

Yukiko nodded, slowly. "Yes," she said. "Yes…I think so. After all, this is where we grew up together. Where else would I want to go?"


	7. The Good Old Days

**Author's Note: **So, Dojima's been seeing Chisato on the midnight channel a lot, lately. Is that all? This little storylet takes place a few days before the beginning of **Dreamgirl**, so I guess you could call it a prequel free-write.

If you've started to figure out for yourself what's going on in the newly-awakened TV World in **Dreamgirl**, then you'll understand why this is significant. If you're still uncertain, that's okay, I'll give you guys some more to chew on in my next update!

**The Good Old Days**

Ryotaro Dojima sat up in his bedroom, sprawled out on the bed in his pajamas, vaguely contemplating the idea of deliberately drinking himself to death. It had been that kind of a day.

Glancing around at the various empty bottles strewn across the floor, he realized that he'd already made a pretty good start. _I don't think I drank all of this tonight_, he reasoned with himself. _Because if I had, I probably would be dead already. I really have to clean this place up. There's trash and empty bottles lying around that've probably been here for days…I hope. Seriously, I didn't actually drink all of this just now, right? I can still see both my hands in front of my face. So far, so good. Ugh my head, though…_

His head was killing him. He had a double barreled migraine that was pounding full force against both sides of his skull, and he couldn't even remember if that a was reaction to the alcohol he wasn't sure he'd had to drink, or to the horrible downward spiral that this shitty week was turning into more and more by the day.

"Not that it matters, anyway," he muttered to himself, shaking his head to clear it, which only made the headache worse. "A few weeks from now, I'm gonna be out of a job…and then I can be as damn useless as I want. I can be fucking drunk all the time, and nobody's gonna even give a shit. Not even me."

As if to toast to that decision, he took a swig of his beer. He was holding the beer, which gave him to understand that he was probably drinking it at the moment, and that realization was comforting, because it was, at least, a piece of concrete information that he hadn't had minutes before, or at least hadn't been able to remember.

"Some people," he continued, talking to himself or to the blank, emotionless TV set staring him down from across the bed, "some people retire with honor. They go out like heroes! The chief throws them a damn party and gives a big speech and…and stuff. That's how it should've been for me. I'm a damn…hero, aren't I? Without me, the hell would we have ever solved those murders? Wouldn't have happened, no way…not without me. Not a chance."

It wasn't as though he hadn't been aware that the decision was coming. For years, the other guys at the station had been muttering behind his back about how he was too much of a hardass, how he was old fashioned and stuck in his ways, and how he worked everybody too hard, including himself. As far as Dojima was concerned, working too hard was a good thing. _No, _he corrected himself, _there's no such thing as working too hard. You work until the job's done, until it's done well That's what my senpai told me, and it's still true, even if these young worthless sacks of shit who call themselves cops don't understand. _

The worst part about it was probably Takahashi's attitude. Dojima's new young partner, pretty fresh out of the academy, always did everything by the book. Every single move he made was according to regulation, and nothing seemed to stir him up, even a little bit. He was punctual, he was accurate, and he was completely disinterested in the actual gritty truths of what detective work really was. _He's not really a cop_, thought Dojima. _He's a suit. He's just some kid in a suit following orders. He doesn't think for himself…he's got no imagination. And that's the guy who's gonna take over my job? When I go, he's the one they're gonna leave in charge of my cases? Crap, I hate to think of what's gonna happen to the work I've been doing. He's gonna fall on his face, and it'd be funny if it wasn't so fucking tragic. _

The clock next to the bed began beeping, attempting to inform Dojima that it was now midnight. He glared defiantly at it through an alcoholic haze, and downed the rest of his bottle of beer. "Fuck you," he told the clock. "I'm a grown man…can stay up as late as I want. 'S not like going in early to work tomorrow's gonna impress anybody. I got nobody left to impress."

He was only vaguely aware that something strange was happening to the TV screen. It was flickering and crackling, apparently having turned itself on, and Dojima reached around under him for a moment, trying to find the remote that he decided he must have sat on. The remote, however, was nowhere to be found, and there was no w a shadowy image appearing on the screen. The image was more of an outline than a picture, indistinct and fuzzy, and Dojima had to squint and scoot a little bit closer to the edge of the bed to try and figure out what the hell he was supposed to be looking at.

Abruptly, the angle of the silhouette changed, and it seemed to get larger and closer to him. "What the…?" mumbled Dojima, alarmed. Now that he could see it a bit more clearly, he recognized that messy haircut and the outline of that face. He'd have recognized it anywhere, drunk off his ass or stone-cold sober. It was a face that he still saw in his nightmares, and in the book of old family photos that he only took out when he was sure that Nanako wasn't around to catch him.

"Adachi," he snarled at the image on the screen. "Just when I thought this day couldn't get any worse…"

Adachi had been another of those obnoxious rookies, he reflected. He'd been another one of those useless kids who'd figured that he deserved everything just for showing up, and that putting in the extra effort was n ever worth the time.

_But no, _he reminded himself slowly, _nah, that can't be right. Kid had that creative spark, and he was smart…he was a smartass, yeah, but he was smart enough to pull one over on me, and on the whole damn force. I mean…in the end, he was an artist. I hate the guy's guts, always will, but…there was this way, I gotta admit, that he really put his mind to work. None of the new guys ever do that. He put more of himself into being the bad guy than most of the new kids bother to put into catching the criminals. The world's all fucked up…nothing's the right side up anymore. That bastard knew what it meant to give it three hundred percent, even if he made fun of it the whole time he was doing it. Damn, I wish we still had guys like him around. I mean…not guys like him. But guys…guys who could think and really feel the way he did. Guys who had the drive. Yeah. The drive. That's what we're missing now. The drive to succeed, whatever the damn reason. _

Adachi's face loomed suddenly closer again, and on a whim, Dojima pried open another bottle, and raised it, nodding at Adachi's silhouette. "To the good old days, then," he mumbled, taking another long swig. "To the days of the real detectives, you piece of shit."

Adachi, of course, didn't say anything. _Probably a good thing, _thought Dojima blearily. _If he opened his damn mouth I'd probably just wanna hit him in it. _

With a final crackle and fuzz, the image disappeared from the screen, and Dojima was again alone in the room.

His head was now fuzzier than even the image on the TV had been, and he no longer felt too much like drinking. A lot of the fight had gone out of him during that last bottle, and now all Dojima wanted to do was to curl up in the bed and pass out into merciful unconsciousness.

Glancing at the clock again, he saw that it was five minutes after midnight.

"Okay," he told the clock, letting out a long breath. "'S time for bed, now."


	8. Unconditional

**Author's Note: **Here's a freewrite that was inspired by a comment made by **JustCharles.** To paraphrase, **JustCharles** suggested that "The Yosuke from **Dreamgirl** should beat up the Yosuke from **Messiah.**"

Well, I won't exactly have them beat up on each other, but here's a little something that's similar enough to print.

This little storylet takes place directly after Chapter Forty Two of **Dreamgirl**.

PS: Yes, I admit freely that I am recycling titles. I am not ashamed.

**Unconditional**

Yosuke had, of course, meant everything he'd said to Yu that day in the food court. He'd been totally serious and sincere about putting aside his feelings about Adachi, and working towards Yu's goals for the greater good.

He was, however, only human. It hurt, even if he knew it shouldn't, and wished it wouldn't. Maybe those feelings had no place in this investigation, and maybe they'd only serve to make everyone, especially his partner feel worse, but they were still there, nonetheless. Trying to choke them down and hide them was making Yosuke nauseous and distracted.

He wasn't sure exactly why he did it. Maybe he just needed to let off a little bit of that pent-up steam. Instead of going straight back out to Yu as soon as his break started, he stepped into the big Junes TV and passed into the world on the other side.

Illogically, he wandered around for a few minutes, unwilling to stray too far from the entrance on his own. His first thought had been that he should go to the shopping district that Saki's mind had created, but in the end, he gave up on that idea. It was more than likely that he'd encounter shadows there, and though he could probably use both the exercise and the adrenaline rush, he'd been in enough battles to know that taking on more than shadow by himself was a recipe for disaster.

_Come on, man, _he told himself. _Pull yourself together. Suck it up. I promised my partner that this wasn't gonna be a problem._

Suddenly, Yosuke's persona materialized in front of him, and he clapped a hand to his chest, startled and certain that he hadn't summoned it, whether consciously or unconsciously. As he watched, Takehaya Susano-o slowly shrank and deformed, turning again into the familiar image of Yosuke's Other Self.

"Jeez," muttered Other Yosuke. "Isn't that just like you? Putting everybody else first, making sure that everyone knows just how reliable you really are. You know, you're not fooling anybody. You're not even fooling your precious partner. Everybody knows just how sick even thinking about Adachi makes you inside. You'd be better off just being honest with them and yourself.

"No way," insisted Yosuke, shaking his head. "Like that would accomplish anything? Look, nobody says I have to like the guy. Nobody says I have to get along with him. That's…that's never going to happen. But this isn't' about me. This isn't about my vendetta. We're trying to save the world, here."

"Ooh," retorted Other Yosuke sarcastically. "Look at you, being all noble and playing the hero! Hey, let me let you in on a little secret, okay? Those feelings you're pretending don't exist? They don't go away if you ignore them. Just because you don't need them right now doesn't mean they're going to disappear. I'm just going to fester in here, feeling more and more miserable, more and more like I've got a cross to bear, until one day, you can't take it anymore, and we both do something crazy. Actually, I'm kind of looking forward to it. It's been a long time since we promised ourselves vengeance on that piece of shit. We deserve to get it, too. We owe it to ourselves."

"I told you," insisted Yosuke. "This has nothing to do with me or with what I want. This is about being there for my friend."

Other Yosuke rolled his eyes." Yeah, I know, I get it. Is that how it's always gonna be? Don't you think this should be about us, for once? Maybe it should be about what we want. Hey, have you already forgotten? Adachi murdered people. He murdered the girl we loved! There's no way we could ever forgive him, not ever. It's out of the question. People like him need to be taught a lesson, and we're the ones to do it!"

"Shut up," muttered Yosuke. "You think I don't know that? That's just not what's important right now."

"Oh," continued Other Yosuke, "and hey, those precious friends of yours? I mean…come on, they're taking this so easily. They're so ready to forgive him and let him off the hook, just because some weirdo from the mysterious, magical 'Velvet Room' says that they should. They don't even want to remember what Adachi's really like! Even your precious partner's trying to blow off what happened. Is that really friendship? Do you honestly think they even care about you, if they're so ready to let that all go? What kind of real friend could forgive a guy who hurt you so much? Nah, that's not loyalty. I don't' buy it. None of them understand. None of them even give a shit about you. Why should we care about them?"

Yosuke gritted his teeth. "It doesn't matter," he mumbled.

"Huh?" asked the shadow. "Wait, seriously? It doesn't-?"

"Who cares how they feel about me?" he asked, a little more loudly than maybe he'd intended. "You think that's what friendship really is? You think I'm only supposed to care about them when they do whatever the hell I think they should do? Of course they don't' want to understand how I feel. It makes them uncomfortable and it makes them upset. That's just how people are. I can't let it get to me. No matter what happens, Yu's my partner. He's my best friend. They're all my best friends. That means that I need to have their backs, even they don't really have mine. It's um…uh, wait, what the hell is the word that I'm looking for?"

There was a long silence.

"Unconditional," mumbled Other Yosuke.

"Yeah," agreed Yosuke, nodding. "That's the one. Friendship is unconditional."


	9. The Grass is Always Greener

**Author's Note: **Chie wasn't able to be at the confrontation with Yukiko's shadow. For obvious reasons, she has a few things to say about that.

This story takes place directly after Chapter Forty Five of **Dreamgirl. **

**The Grass is Always Greener**

Yukiko, Yosuke, Y u and Rise emerged from the TV to find Chie standing there waiting for them.

"Yukiko!" she shrieked, grabbing her by both shoulders. "Are you all right? Are you hurt? What happened?"

Yukiko was genuinely startled. "I'm…I'm fine, really," she insisted, gently prying Chie's fingers off. "But…Chie, how did you know I was in there?"

Chie snorted. "I called your cell," she informed her. "When no one picked up, I tried the Inn, but they said that you'd stepped out. It wasn't that hard to figure out what had happened. After that chat we had last night, I…I just knew that you'd do something like this. I only wish I'd figured it out a little sooner!"

"Chie," murmured Yukiko, amazed and encouraged, not for the first or last time by how unreasonably attuned her best friend was to her motives and movements.

Chie, however, was no longer paying any attention to Yukiko. Now, she was glaring daggers at Yu and Yosuke, who both took an involuntarily step back as she advanced on them with murder in her eyes.

"How dare you?" she hissed. "Both of you…you should be ashamed of yourselves!"

"What?" demanded Yosuke. "Wait, what the hell did we do?"

"You broke our rule!" Chie blazed at him. "You only took three people in there! There are always supposed to be at least four! Someone could have gotten hurt. Yukiko could have-!"

"Hey," interrupted Rise, sounding peeved. "I was there, too."

Chie gave Rise a quick, withering look. "Um, no offense," she muttered, "but you're…I mean, you can't exactly fight. It's not like you could have stepped in if something had gone wrong, you know what I mean?"

Rise made a face, and looked as though she was going to object, but Chie obviously didn't notice. She was too busy being livid at the boys, who were now staring blankly at each other as though uncertain exactly what to do to stem the tirade.

Chie took a deep breath. "You should have called me," she told them. "I should have been there for her. For all of you!"

Yosuke held up his hands in a gesture of defense. "You were at work!" he reminded her. "Aren't you still supposed to be at work? What did you want us to do? You want us to call you at the station and drag you away from your desk right in front of Dojima-san? How suspicious would that be? No way, there's no way that would work. So you had to sit this one out, big deal. What's the point of flying off the handle about it? Calm down!"

That looked to Yukiko as though it only made Chie even more furious. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head as she raged, "Calm down? I am not going to calm down! Any of you could have died in there! We don't even know exactly what we're up against, and you're acting like is no big deal! You are never going in there without me again, do you understand me? You better promise, or I'll…I'll…"

Yukiko placed a hand on Chie's shoulder. "Chie, please," she insisted gently. "I'm okay. Really, I am. We're all okay. There's nothing to worry about anymore."

Chie opened her mouth, then shut it again, deflating gradually under Yukiko's calming influence.

"Hey, Chie," began Yu. Chie just shook her head, cutting him off.

"Come on, Yukiko," she muttered, taking her friend by the arm. "We're leaving."

Yukiko didn't protest. Chie didn't seem to be in the mood to be argued with. Instead, Yukiko let Chie drag her all the way out of Junes and halfway down the sidewalk of the shopping district.

"I was so worried…" muttered Chie. "When I realized you'd gone in there without me, I thought…I thought maybe you'd meet your shadow again, just like Yosuke, and like Kanji. What if you got attacked by your Other Self again, only this time, I wasn't there to help? I…I didn't want that to happen. After you stayed up all night listening to me talk and whine last night…I didn't want you to feel like I wasn't there for you, anymore. You know, because you're always there for me, and…"

Yukiko felt a little twinge of guilt, and she bit her lip. "I think there's something I should tell you," she murmured. "I don't think you're going to like it, but it can't be helped."

Yukiko went on to describe the confrontation that she'd had with her shadow in the TV World, the way the shadow had turned into Kasai, and how it had then turned into some horrible creature which had accused her of things she'd known all along were still true in the pit of her soul. Chie stood quietly, not saying a word, her eyes getting wider and wider with every word Yukiko added to the story. Once or twice, Yukiko saw Chie clench her fists or grit her teeth, obviously forcing herself not to shout out or protest against something that Yukiko had done or said.

"So," finished Yukiko, fumbling for some positive note to end on, "that's…that's what happened. And you see, I wasn't alone."

Chie didn't say anything for a long moment. Yukiko, who had been desperately hoping that Chie might just laugh the whole thing off, felt her heart begin to sink her chest.

"I'm sorry," she murmured "I…I wish I could have been the person that I tried so hard to be. I wish I could be as happy and as satisfied as the rest of you. I wish I had more answers, but…"

"Oh, Yukiko…" Chie sighed. Shaking her head, she grabbed her friend up in a big, tight hug that sent some of the breath rushing out of Yukiko's lungs.

"Like I didn't already know all of that," continued Chie. "Please, do you really think any of us expected anything else? We're all like that. We all want something more, and something different."

"But," managed Yukiko uncertainly, as Chie very slightly relaxed her death grip. "No one else ever talks about leaving Inaba. No one else ever seems to have any doubts about what they want. Yu-kun even came back to us, after all this time. Even Naoto-kun, and Rise-san…"

Chie shook her head. "Don't you get it? It's the same thing," she insisted. "Rise-san wanted to be a star, but she wasn't sure she'd be as happy being famous as she had been with us in Inaba. Naoto's a famous detective, but she still thinks about the people she left behind when she started to call somewhere 'home.' It's not because Inaba's so perfect or because we're all so wonderful, or anything like that. It's because, um…" For a moment, Chie fumbled, apparently trying to think of the right words. "Oh, what's that thing that Teddie always says? 'The grass is always greener.' It's like, a proverb that means you always wonder if things would be better if they had turned out some other way. Everybody's like that. Everybody thinks about the stuff they don't have. There's nothing wrong it, and there's nothing wrong with you."

Chie said that last part so fiercely and defensively that it was almost like a challenge to anyone who might dare to disagree. Yukiko felt a smile beginning to creep across her face, and this time she was the one who reached out to hug Chie, albeit much more gently.

"I wish you'd been there," Yukiko admitted. "But…I'm glad you're here, now. That's what matters."

"Right," agreed Chie. "I'm here now. And I'm not going anywhere. Even if you leave Inaba, you're stuck with me."


	10. Destroy

**Author's Note: **Difficult day, relationship problems, fights. Not in a delighted mood, and as we are all well aware by now, when I'm in a bad mood, I write lots of Adachi. Thus, this.

The lyrics at the beginning, by the way, are by Josh Woodward. I heard this song the other day and was drawn to it.

**Destroy**

_Destruction and creation are the same thing after all_

_The mighty always fall_

_I want to destroy something beautiful for you_

After everyone else had gone, Adachi sat on the floor in the Velvet Room for a while, just staring at the wall. Moments turned into minutes, minutes into hours, and hours blended together until he wasn't sure just how long he'd been sitting there, his mind wandering as far as it could away from the miserable boredom of being alone in this blue hell.

There was no time in the Velvet room. Even if he'd tried to count the seconds, it wouldn't have meant anything. The nothing stretched on forever. It was an empty place.

Emptiness didn't relax Adachi. He couldn't be calm in silence. Having nothing to let his brain work on only set him more and more on edge. He fidgeted with the cuffs of his shirt, felt his toes twitching inside his shoes, and reached his hands into his pockets, desperate for anything to distract him from himself.

All he found in his pocket, however, were a couple of crumpled up pieces of paper. He pulled them out and smoothed them as best he could against the Velvet Room floor. They were, of course, the two pieces of the colored drawing that Nanako had shown him that evening at the Dojima home. On a whim, Adachi pushed the two pieces together, until the picture was whole again, although the jagged cut where the scissors had done their work was still plainly visible on both sides.

It was a terrible picture, even by childhood's standards. Nanako had absolutely no sense of proportion at all. Everyone's feet were pointing in two different directions, which looked painful and difficult to accomplish. Adachi's eyes were different sizes. Yu had only one hand, while the other was, apparently behind his back for reasons that escaped Adachi. Nanako had much longer hair than she'd ever had in real life. She was also much taller. Dojima had a stupid look on his face, which was one of the only things that Adachi thought was really accurate about the entire thing.

Everyone in the picture was smiling, too. _That's pretty accurate, _thought Adachi objectively, thinking back on the many times that he'd dropped in, announced or otherwise, on the Dojima family dinner after work. Dojima had spent a lot of his time growling at Yu or shouting at Adachi, and Nanako seemed to spend most of her time getting embarrassed on her father's behalf, but…for some reason, Adachi still had this overwhelming impression of happiness and smiling when he thought about those times.

It was almost as though there had been this level of nauseatingly companionable comfort beneath all of that conflict and shouting. There had been laughter, too, when Nanako had asked her ridiculously childish questions about the weather, or when Adachi had tried out one of his magic tricks. Adachi had one very strong memory, in particular, of a time when then all gone home together after a successful break in the case, and there had been sushi for everyone. Even Dojima had spent that evening smiling.

_Yeah, _decided Adachi. _We were pretty happy, I guess. _

Something twinged painfully in Adachi's chest. "Nngh," he grunted, hunching forward for a moment. The papers fluttered out of his hands and landed on the floor. Another pair of hands, a lot like his own, reached down and collected them.

Adachi stared up into the yellow, disdainfully sneering eyes of his Other Self.

"We?" drawled Other Adachi, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Seriously, 'we' were happy? What the hell makes you think you were ever a part of them?' Come on, don't lump yourself in with that kind of happy-go-lucky dumbass crap. Jeez, you're embarrassing me."

Adachi frowned. "Yeah, maybe," he muttered. "Still, Nanako-chan seems pretty sure that-!"

"Oh, please." Other Adachi rolled his eyes. "You think they cared about you? Is that what you want to believe? Ugh, you make me sick."

Adachi pointed at the two pieces of picture that Other Adachi was holding. "You can't argue with the facts," he said, shrugging.

"She was a seven year old kid; she could barely find her own ass without a fucking guidebook." Other Adachi looked exasperated. "She would have cared about anything. At that age, they bring stray puppies home. They collect pet fucking rocks if daddy says they can't have a real pet. You get it? You were a pet. That how you want to live the rest of your life, following some kid around like a sick, lost puppy? Like maybe she's gonna give some meaning to your life, or something? Like that's gonna happen. How many times do I have to try to get it through your thick-ass skull?"

Suddenly, Other Adachi grabbed the large piece of the picture in both hands and tore it in two. Adachi scrambled to his feet and reached for it, but his Other Self was already shredding it, tearing off tiny piece after tiny piece and letting each of them flutter to the ground. Before too long, the entire drawing Yu, Dojima, and Nanako was destroyed, scattered across the carpet. One of Nanako's scribbled eyes stared up at Adachi from right next to his foot.

"Pets aren't supposed to bite their masters," Other Adachi informed Adachi, passing him back the drawing of himself. "Kids aren't allowed to have dangerous pets. Guess it's gonna be the pound for you after all." Then he vanished, back into Adachi's soul.

Even whole again, with both himself and his Other Self residing within the same frame, Adachi could feel the emptiness.

The moments continued to turn into minutes, the minutes into hours, and the hours to be meaningless.


End file.
